The Assassination of Namine
by Mae Snapdragon
Summary: A mysterious cloaked figure appears to Xion in the Castle That Never Was to tell her that there is a way for Xion, Roxas, and Sora to all survive! But the answer is...to go into the past and kill Namine?
1. Chapter 1

**The characters in this story belong to Kindom Hearts and Square Enix, except for Xandra, who is a creation of my own. I hope you like it!**

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Xion stood in her room in the Castle That Never Was and stared into her mirror. The same girl was there: a girl with short black hair that framed a pale face and bright blue eyes. She closed those eyes and counted to five, light dancing on the insides of her eyelids. Taking a deep breath, she opened them.

Her reflection hadn't changed. She could still see herself. But she knew it wasn't always going to be that way. She knew that soon it would not be her face that looked back at her from the mirror, but someone else's.

Riku gave me this time so I could figure things out, she remembered. And now she knew what she had to do. Her being here only hurt Roxas. She didn't want to lose everything she had come to love.

She had to go back to Sora.

Suddenly from behind her she heard the sound of the air being ripped apart, and she whirled around to see a hooded figure step out of a dark corridor. Her first thought was that it was Riku, but then her mind registered that the figure was too slim beneath the black cloak. This was someone she didn't know.

The person shook off the hood and Xion could see that it was a girl. She was as pale as Xion and her brown hair was just as short, but her eyes were dark brown, standing out starkly against her skin.

"You're Xion, right?" asked the stranger. Her voice had a musical quality, but there was the emptiness of a Nobody there. Before Xion could answer, she spoke again. "Of course you are. I already know that."

"Who are you? Where did you get that cloak?" Xion had a sinking feeling. The last time she had met someone who should not have been wearing the Organization coat, she had been told that she was a fake and that her memories were not her own.

"Xion, I'm from the future. My name is Xandra and in the future I've just been asked to join the Organization," the girl said urgently. "Where I come from, when I come from, almost everyone in the Organization is dead. Roxas has been absorbed into Sora, who is getting ready to battle Xemnas."

Xion felt a shock course through her. She knew that, like herself, Roxas had to go back to Sora, but hearing it was a different matter altogether. She didn't like it. She didn't want to think of Roxas's life ending, of him no longer existing except as part of Sora. It was okay for her, because she was a doll. A nothing. But Roxas deserved his own life!

"Roxas..." she whispered. Her chest was hurting. Why was it hurting? She hadn't been wounded there.

Xandra nodded, as if Xion's reaction had confirmed something.

"I thought you'd feel that way," she said.

"How do you know me? Do we meet in the future? Why are you here?" Xion shook away her thoughts of Roxas, trying to focus on the strange girl.

Xandra shook her head, crossing the room to look in the mirror. She tugged at her hair, tilting her head as though she did not recognize the person staring back at her.

"Once, my name was Drana," she said softly. "I lived in Twilight Town, and I had the unusual power to see the future. I met a man in a black cloak with red, spiky hair."

"Axel!" Xion exclaimed. But Axel had never mentioned a girl named Drana...

The girl nodded, a strange look appearing in her eyes.

"I saw in the future that he would become a killer. You see, this happened when he had just joined the Organization, long before her met you or Roxas. We became friends and I tried to help him, but I only ended up hurting us both. The Organization erased his memory of me, and I was dumped back in Twilight Town. But I couldn't let go, so I used my powers to watch over Axel. I saw him become friends with you and Roxas, so I know everything about you. I watched him at Castle Oblivion, and I know the whole story there, although you don't. But in the future, Axel dies."

Xandra paused, looking down at the floor, and Xion felt another dull pain in her chest.

"He died," Xandra continued. "And when I saw him die, I lost my heart to darkness, and became a Nobody. Xemnas invited me to join the Organization, but I'm going to decline." She suddenly spun around to face Xion. "But first, I had to come back in time to tell you this: I know a way for both Roxas and Sora and you to exist separately. Sora doesn't have to be the only one who lives. I know how to save all three of you."

"What?" Xion couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had just decided that the only path for her was to go back to Sora, but now she was being offered a way for everyone to survive!

"I got curious about Sora, about his backstory. So, in the hours after I became a Nobody and before Xemnas approached me, I looked into the past and discovered what went on before Sora got to Castle Oblivion. It was then that I realized something: everyone thinks that you, Sora, and Roxas can't exist at the same time without Sora's memories leaking into you, but at one point you did. It was only for a few days, but it was enough."

The room seemed to close in on Xion and her chest tightened, as though there wasn't enough air to breathe. Expectancy pulsed through her and she waited, like she was on the edge of a cliff, for the next words that were going to push their way out of Xandra's lips.

"After Sora closed the Door to Darkness, he set out to find Riku. He then came across Castle Oblivion, and inside his memories were torn apart, and they found their way inside you and Roxas. But there was that period of time when he was travelling! When he hadn't reached Castle Oblivion yet! At that same time, both you and Roxas were existing comfortably in the Castle That Never Was. If Sora's memories had never been pulled apart, then all three of you would be able to exist at the same time."

"But that's all in the past," Xion stammered. "Even if I wanted to, how could I change it?"

"When I became a Nobody, my powers just increased," Xandra explained. "I can now travel back in time, and take anyone I want with me. Think about it. You can save yourself and the one you love, without getting rid of Sora."

Xion gave a start. "How did you-?"

"I could tell you loved him," Xandra said quietly, her gaze suddenly distant. "I may have only been watching from afar, but I could see it anyway." She swallowed, then finished her sentence, her voice going strangely flat. "The way you looked at Roxas reminded me of how I looked at Axel." She cleared her throat. "But Sora needs to survive, because he's the one to defeat Xemnas."

"Even if I could go back in time with you, how would I stop Sora's memories from being torn apart?" Xion asked. She'd already made a snap decision in her head. If there was any way to help Roxas, she'd do it. Even if that meant trusting a girl she'd never met before, and who claimed she was from the future.

"The Organization doesn't know how to erase memories on their own," the other girl responded. "They have a tool who does it for them. It's a Nobody, a girl named Namine. She is under their control, and she will take apart Sora's memories the instant he steps in that castle. That's why we have to get rid of her."

Xandra stared straight into Xion's eyes, her gaze determined.

"The only way to save Roxas, Sora, and you, is to assassinate Namine."


	2. Chapter 2

Blackness swirled around Xion's head, tendrils of darkness clinging to her skin with a clammy, cold touch. It didn't feel like she was being transported through time and space. It felt like she was merely in a deep, dreamless sleep. Maybe I am asleep, she thought with a jolt. Maybe I only dreamed that a girl came from the future to tell me how to save Roxas. Maybe when I open my eyes, I'll be the same old Xion who has to go die.

And then the air ripped open in front of her and she stepped out of the darkness onto damp grass. Behind her she heard the other girl - Xandra - exit the dark corridor as well, pausing to survey the blank, rolling landscape.

"Where are we?" Xion asked, her voice automatically hushed.

"We are about five minutes away from meeting Sora," Xandra answered, moving up to stand beside Xion. "He is only a day into his journey away from the Door to Darkness. In three days he will reach Castle Oblivion."

Xion shivered uncontrollably. Sora. She was going to finally meet the boy she saw in her memories, the boy who owned those memories. It didn't seem possible.

"I thought we were going to assassinate a girl," Xion said in confusion.

"That's what has to be done to stop his memories from being taken, yes," Xandra conceded. "But if we could simply stop him from entering Castle Oblivion at all, then maybe we could spare the girl." She pointed suddenly at a hill on the edge of the horizon. "There he is now."

Xion squinted, and she could just barely make out three black smudges on top of the hill, moving sluggishly towards them. Panic gripped her. Too soon! She wasn't ready yet!

But Xandra didn't seem to notice Xion's sudden tension. She unzipped her cloak, shucking it off her shoulders to reveal a black strapless top and black pants, almost the same things that Xion wore under her cloak.

"What are you doing?" Xion asked.

"Turn your cloak inside out," Xandra instructed, pulling at the sleeves of her cloak so that the inside was facing outwards. The inside, although still black, was softer looking than the outside, and you could see red stitching at the seams. "And wear it unzipped. We don't want to look like members of the Organization. He hasn't met them yet, but still, it's best not to muddle the future with the past too much, not when you're trying to change something as big as this."

Xion hesitated, glancing at where the three figures were in the distance, slowly growing larger. then she yanked her cloak over the top of her head, pausing to pull up the straps of her black spaghetti strap shirt as they flopped off her shoulders. Then she stuffed the cloak inside out and unzipped it, pulling it back on. The outside material felt strange against her skin, but she knew that she looked very different now.

She looked back up and froze when she saw that the trio of figures were even closer now. She could faintly make out their forms. There was a duck, a weird dog thing, and a boy - Sora! - with brown hair. She couldn't see their faces yet, but she knew it would only be a few more minutes.

"You done?" Xandra asked.

"Yeah," Xion answered, shaking her limbs out as though to dispel her nervousness. "What do we do-"

There was a sudden ripping sound, and Xion looked over to see Xandra pull a short sword out of her side.

"What the-" Xion cried in shock.

Xandra stumbled and hunched over, clutching her ribs, but she didn't fall, her knuckles white on the handle of the sword. She squeezed her eyes shut and hissed out a breath between her teeth, the sword dissolving into blue light.

"Why would you do that?" Xion exclaimed, trying to support Xandra.

Xandra shot a glance up at Xion, smiling slightly, and Xion felt a strange sense of deja vu.

"I always was impulsive," Xandra murmurred. "Even when I was a Somebody."

She yanked free of Xion and started half running, half-falling down the hill towards the approaching three figures.

"Hey!" she yelled, waving a hand in the air. "Over here! We need some help!"

So that was her plan, Xion thought grimly, dashing after the other girl. Still, to stab herself? No wonder this was the type of girl that Axel had fallen in love with.

"Someone's hurt!" Xion shouted, adding her voice to Xandra's. "Help us!" Lying did not come very easy to her, but this time it wasn't a complete lie. They may have been luring Sora and the others there on false pretenses, but there really was someone hurt.

The three figures heard the voices and turned their heads, spotting the cloaked figures stumbling towards them. The boy's head turned last, and Xion was close enough now to finally see his face in real life.

Sora was exactly as he was in her memories. His hair stuck out like a spiky dark brown crown in thick chunks that seemed to go in random directions. His face was achingly like Roxas's, but his eyes seemed more open, clearer than her friend. He was skinny, but she could feel the light, the light of the Keyblade wielder, pouring off of him.

"Gawrsh!" hyucked the strange dog thing. "We gotta help them!"

"What's wrong?" Sora asked, running towards the two girls.

Xandra slumped to the ground, Xion crouching beside her, as the trio skidded to a stop in front of them.

"Donald!" Sora said, turning towards the duck.

"I'm on it, I'm on it!" the duck squawked, raising high his magical staff thing. "Curaga!"

A glowing green ring appeared around Xandra and Xion.

"Thank you," Xandra said weakly. "We've been travelling for a while, and I wasn't certain I could make it much longer with that wound."

Liar, Xion thought, feeling impressed and appalled at the same time.

Sora crouched down beside them, resting his elbows on his knees.

"What happened to you guys?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Who are you?"

Xion's brain went blank, but luckily, Xandra seemed to have no such problems.

"I'm Xandra, and this is Xion," she said. "We were attacked by some guys in black cloaks...and..."

Abruptly, her head rolled back against Xion's shoulder, her hands flopping against the ground.

""Oh my gosh, she passed out!" Sora exclaimed, crossing into the green ring of curaga to lean over Xandra.

"Just leave her there," Donald said in his obnoxious voice, folding his arms (wings? Xion couldn't be sure which one it was) and plopping himself on the ground. "Curaga will keep healing her until she's all better."

"I sure hope so," the dog chimed in. "Until then, we'd better stay here with them."

"I'll go see if I can find firewood! Goofy, you come with me!" Sora sprang to his feet suddenly and dashed off into the night, dragging his dog friend with him. The duck huffed.

"Silly kid. I'm going to go to sleep." He glanced over his shoulder at Xion, who was still supporting the seemingly unconscious Xandra, and then lay down on the grass. "Just leave her there. She'll be fine by morning."

And then he closed his eyes and started snoring.

Xion nodded wordlessly, though he couldn't see her now, and lowered Xandra to the ground. She was about to move away when there was a tug on her sleeve.

"Hey," Xandra whispered, opening her eyes a slit. "You didn't really think I had passed out, did you? Honestly."

"Well, I can't understand why you would want to fake pass out!" Xion hissed.

"We have to get them to trust us!" Xandra replied. "You spend tonight chatting with them and getting them to relax - shouldn't be hard for you, you have the kind of face that invites pity - while I'm "healing", and then tomorrow I'll tell them that they can't go into the castle that they're going to come across in three days!"

"Are we going to tell them why?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll think of something!" Xandra reassured her. "Sora's coming back. Remember, get him to like us, but don't give away too much!"

"How am I supposed to-"

"Kairi?"

Xion turned around to see Sora paused a few feet away, his arms full of sticks, his eyes open wide with shock, staring at her. There was a moment of silence, but then he shook his head and gave a short laugh.

"Sorry," he said uncertainly. "It's just that I didn't get a good look at your face before...and you look a lot like a...friend of mine."

He set the sticks down on the ground and stuck his hand out to the side. With a flash of white light, his keyblade appeared in his palm, glinting dully in the dim light. It was getting darker fast, but with a burst of fire magic, soon a small fire was burning in the centre of the circle of people. Sora sat down, banishing the keyblade and staring into the flames. He looked strangely solemn, which was a very odd look for him.

Finally, he looked up and smiled at Xion.

"So, who are you?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Who am I?" Xion repeated, swallowing nervously. "I'm just a traveller. But you haven't even told us your names."

"Oh! Sorry, I'm Sora. and these two are Donald and Goofy."

Xion saw the strange dog thing sleeping beside Donald. Funny, she hadn't even notices him coming back with Sora.

"Tell me about your friend," she said, turning back to the brown-haired boy. "The one who looks so much like me."

"Who, Kairi?" he asked. His face changed slightly when he said her name, but Xion wasn't certain what it meant. This was one of the first times she had spoken to a Somebody. "Kairi is my friend from the island where we used to play. She's smart, and she's funny, although she can be pretty bossy sometimes. I'm trying to find a way to get back to her."

"Is she important to you?" Xion curled her legs up to her chest, watching Sora's expressions.

"Yes," the boy responded, staring down at his hands. "Very." There was a pause, but then he leaned backwards on his elbows, his eyes moving to the dark sky. "But I can't get back to the island until I find Riku. Kairi would be really angry if I came back without him."

"Are all three of you friends?"

"Yup! Best friends!"

Just like Roxas, Axel, and I, Xion thought, smiling slightly. Being with Sora felt like being with a brother: familiar, comfortable. And yet she kept looking for pieces of Roxas in him, similarities.

"What are you travelling for? Why were you attacked?" Sora inquired, turning his innocent blue eyes on her. Xion froze. What was she supposed to say? She wasn't good at this subterfuge thing! But her silence seemed to be an answer of it's own, and Sora nodded, looking away.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he assured her. "Everybody's got secrets, right?"

"I - It's not that!" she spluttered. "It's just that I don't know the details of it. My companion does, but she's still healing, and in the morning we can -"

Sora picked up a stick and threw it at her. She stopped talking to duck in surprise.

"It's fine!" Sora laughed. "You should get some sleep. You've been travelling for a while, right? Don't worry, I'll take first watch."

Xion couldn't help but smile. It already felt like they were friends.

"Okay," she replied, lying down on the ground next to Xandra. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but after a minute she peeked between her lashes up at Sora.

He was looking into the fire, seemingly transfixed by the dancing flames, grinning like a fool. Xion almost snorted out loud, but covered it up with a fake snore. What a kid he was! He gets amused that easily...

She squinted at him, her humour fading. What am I in reference to Sora and Roxas anyway? she wondered. Roxas and Sora are sort of the same person, but not really, so they're sort of like brothers. I was created to clone Roxas's powers, but I got my own personality and identity, and I'm a girl, both physically and mentally. Just like Sora has Kairi, have I become Roxas's Kairi? Is that why we look alike?

She closed her eyes again, silencing her thoughts. It was pointless to speculate. All she knew was what she felt-and the fact that she could feel things. Xion clung onto that, and slowly drifted into sleep.

"What? You can't!"

Xion opened her eyes, sitting up and blinking slowly, until the scene in front of her registered. She flew to her feet, mouth open in astonishment as she stared at Xandra and Sora, who were obviously in the middle of a heated argument. Donald and Goofy stood a little bit away, watching nervously.

"I've just told you that you can't go there!" Xandra yelled, stabbing a finger at Sora. "We travelled here specifically to warn you to stay away from the castle that's coming up! The guys in there are bad news! They attacked us! They are a lot worse than those sock puppets you're used to fighting."

Sock puppets? Xion thought in bewilderment.

"But why would they hurt me?" Sora shouted. "The only reason they'd do that is if I'm their enemy, and if I'm their enemy, they're my enemy. What if Riku's there? We've been wandering around this landscape for a day and this is the first we've heard of any sort of place. That's probably where Riku is being held captive!"

"Your logic stinks!" Xandra retorted. "Your friend Riku can probably take care of himself, but you have no idea what they can do to you in that castle. Why can't you trust us?"

Xion didn't think she had made any noise, but suddenly they both looked over at her. Shame passed over Sora's eyes and he looked away, as if embarrassed that she had seen him fighting with Xandra.

"Sure, I trust you guys," Sora responded, flashing a sudden grin. He folded his arms behind his head and glanced back at Donald and Goofy. "Mistrusting your friends is wrong, right guys?"

"Well, if we're your friends, then listen to us and don't go there," Xion said quietly, stepping forward to draw level with Xandra. "You don't know how important this is."

Sora dropped his arms and hung his head. "Sorry," he replied. "But I can't do that." He bounded past the two girls, beckoning for Donald and Goofy to follow him. "How could I face Kairi if I didn't try to search for Riku everywhere?"

The three of them ran up the hill, pausing once at the top to look back, the morning sun shining around them.

"Bye, Xion!" Sora called, waving. "Bye, Xandra! Thanks for trying to warn us. I know we'll see each other again!"

Then he turned and started heading down the other side of the hill.

"Wait-" Xion began, starting forward. To her surprise, Xandra stopped her, placing her hand on her shoulder.

"We can't change their minds now," Xandra said softly. Her face had gone back to the usual emotionless Nobody one. "In fact, we've made it worse by telling them about the castle."

"Then what-" Xion's sentence was broken off as the hand on her shoulder tightened, and then she was suddenly thrown sideways into a dark corridor. Xandra jumped in after her and the darkness twisted around them. Xion felt herself falling backwards, whirling around and around, feeling a strange sense of time passage.

Then suddenly she was spit out onto grass, whacking her chin against the damp ground. She glanced up and instantly recognized the same landscape around her. They were in the exact same place! Except...the sky was darker, and there was no sign of a firepit or them having been there at all.

"We're back at the beginning," Xandra said, pulling Xion to her feet. "Where we started from before. And look." She pointed and Xion saw three figures making their way towards them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "There they come."

"What are we going to do differently this time?" Xion asked.

Xandra smirked.

"Time to persuade him to stay away from that castle in a different way."

With a flash, her sword appeared in her hand. She gripped it tightly and, letting out a scream of attack, ran straight towards Sora.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry it took me so long to post this, guys! And I'm sorry it's a short chapter too...I'll try to be better on updates from now on.**

**I don't own any of the characters except for Xandra.  
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"What the hell are you doing?" Xion shouted.

"Improvising!" Xandra called back over her shoulder. She raced up the hill, kicking up chunks of grass as she sped towards the trio at the top. Xion dashed after her, knowing it was futile, even as she saw the three figures turn, almost in slow motion.

"Look out, Sora!" Donald screeched.

Xandra's sword flashed as it curved through the air between them, but suddenly that dim reflection was overcome by a burst of light from Sora's hands. There was a clang, and the light faded to reveal Sora's keyblade blocking the sword just inches above his head.

Sora braced his free hand on the edge of his keyblade and pushed Xandra off, causing her to skid a few feet away. The boy instantly dropped into a defensive stance, his two friends rushing to either side of him.

"Who are you?" he yelled. "What are you attacking me f-"

Xandra lunged towards him again, sweeping Donald and Goofy back easily before she curved her blade towards Sora, who only just blocked it again. The crossed weapons strained with the force of both people: Sora's face grim, Xandra's face strangely evil-looking. After another second, she abruptly danced backwards, pointing her sword directly at Sora.

"I have a message for you," she said. "Don't continue in this direction. Go east instead."

"What?" Sora exclaimed, his keyblade dropping slightly in confusion. "Why would you care where I go?"

"Just trust me!" Xandra cried out. "If you want to find your friend, go east!"

"Riku? You know about Riku?" Something in Sora's eyes tightened, and he gripped the keyblade with both hands, leveling it at Xandra.

"Yup!" Xion cut in. They both turned to stare at her. "Um...he's over...in the east..," she finished lamely.

"Gawrsh, well maybe we should go east," Goofy began.

"Don't trust them!" Donald interrupted. "They attacked us! That's evidence enough for me that they're lying!"

Xion's heart sank.

"That's right!" Sora glared at Xandra. "How do you know about Riku? Do you have him captive or something?"

"I...no. He's in the east! Not in the castle that is this way. He's that way!"

Xion covered her face with her hand, sighing. Xandra hadn't struck her as being unintelligent when they had first met, (what, half an hour ago?) but she was really running for awards in stupidity with this one.

"That's it!" Sora roared. "If you've got my friends in some castle, I don't care how much I have to beat you, I'm going to save them!"

Xandra's shoulders slumped and her sword tip pointed down at the ground. She glanced back at Xion, shrugging.

"Well, that didn't work. It was worth a try," she said calmly, oblivious to the death glares she was still receiving from the three in front of her.

With a casual flick of her wrist, she opened up a dark corridor, causing Sora and his friends to stumble back in surprise, their eyes fixed in shock on the swirling darkness.

"Let's go, Xion," Xandra said, walking into the portal. Xion ran after her, but suddenly Sora lunged forward, swinging his keyblade towards her.

"Hey! What about Riku?" he yelled, obviously furious.

Xion's heart stopped in panic. Sora couldn't come inside the portal! He'd be transported back into the past, and that could not happen! She pitched herself backwards into the dark corridor, and as Sora flew forward, she reacted without thinking. Her fist slammed into his face and he reeled backwards, holding his cheek. The last thing Xion saw before the portal closed around her was his shocked eyes staring into hers.

The two girls were thrown out onto hard ground, Xion scraping her palms as she tumbled to a halt. She pushed herself up, rounding on Xandra instantly.

"I just punched Sora in the face!" she exclaimed in horror. "I just punched the Keyblade master in the face."

"Well, you can gloat later," Xandra said, not noticing when Xion's mouth dropped open even further in astonishment. "Right now, we have to try to end this thing."

Xion followed her gaze and turned around. In front of her was an enormous castle, spiky towers soaring upwards to stab at the sky. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt a cold shiver of foreboding as she stared at the expanse of the huge door waiting for them.

"Changing Sora's direction didn't work," Xandra said, striding forward. "No matter what we do, he's going to come here in four days. What we've got to do is make sure that when he gets here, there won't be anyone to steal his memories. We're going in."

"Oh, really?"

Xion and Xandra whirled around to see a hooded figure step out of a dark corridor behind them, moving slowly towards them. He reached up and swept the hood off, his turquoise eyes smirking at them from underneath his spiky red hair.

"I'm not certain you're allowed to do that," he said calmly, halting a few metres from them.

Xion opened her mouth, shock coursing through her, but Xandra stepped forward, breathing just one half-whispered word.

"Axel?"


	5. Chapter 5

***bows* I apologize for how long it took me to get this chapter up. I could ramble on about Chemistry projects and being away at the Sears Drama Festival performing my school's play, but they're just excuses, so here it is, the belated chapter. Things really start going after this one.**

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"Hey, Xandra. Your Somebody name was Drana, right?"

"Yeah...that's who I was before I was a Nobody."

"It's a nice name. I wish I had been a Somebody, but that's stupid, isn't it? I'm a puppet. I'm...not even worth anything at all."

"Stop talking like that, 'kay? You're worth enough to change the past."

"What was it like being a Somebody?"

"Look, Xion, I don't want to talk about that. Let's just get going."

Xion had thought she understood things like friendship, and even love, or at least, the idea of what love could be like. She had thought that what she felt radiating sometimes between her and Roxas was the highest feeling that a person could reach. She'd thought that Xandra knew the same pain of that feeling.

But that was before Axel appeared out of nowhere.

"Axel?" Xandra whispered, moving forward slightly. All traces of her expressionless mask were gone and her face was filled with things that Xion didn't even know Nobodies could feel. She felt almost as if she were staring straight at the sun, or at something that she wasn't supposed to see. She felt hugely, obnoxiously, in the way, like an elephant in the middle of a highway.

Axel squinted at the girl stepping towards him, and for a tiny second, a wave of recognition passed over his face. Then it vanished and he crossed his arms, leaning backwards casually and smirking at them.

"Do I know you?" he asked. "'Cause apparently, you've got my name memorized."

Xandra blinked, and it looked as though she had been hit with a bus. Then she dipped her head, and when she raised it, there was not even a glimpse of the Somebody she used to be in her expression.

"I might have," she said simply, folding her arms across her chest. "A while ago."

"A forgotten friend, huh?" he said disbelievingly. "Well, regardless, I'm afraid I can't let you in that castle, not if you're planning to screw things up for us."

"For us?" Xandra questioned, moving closer to him. "Do you mean the Organization? Because you might find that our goals are closer together than you had assumed."

"Really?" he said lazily, still not moving, his eyes following the girl in front of him. Xion shivered: this Axel was a colder one than the one she knew, but she recognized that stance. He was tensed to spring at any moment, to whip out his chakrams and kill them both if need be.

"Unlike the other members in this castle, you were sent with a special mission," Xandra said slowly. "Saix sent you to find the traitors to the Organization."

Axel's eyes glinted with what seemed like interest. "And how would you know that?"

Xandra opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, hesitating. An idea sparked in Xion's mind, and she stepped forward, out from behind the other girl, pulling off her cloak, which was still inside out. She flipped it the right way out and put it back on again, now looking every inch the Organization member.

"Because we are part of the Organization too," she said boldly. "You don't know about us, because we do not associate with the rest of the Organization. Only Xemnas and Saix are aware of our existence, and they sent us as backup."

Axel raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Because a cloak proves so much."

There was a slither of sound and a flash of movement too fast for Xion's eyes to follow, and suddenly Xandra was behind Axel, her sword at his throat.

"Why would we need any other proof for you?" she asked silkily.

Xion thought she saw Axel lean forward slightly, pressing his skin to the blade as though to test her resolve, but then there was a burst of red light and a ringing sound of metal on metal as he ducked away, knocking the sword off with his chakrams. The two people stared at each other for a moment, Axel swinging the spiked discs around his hands, Xandra holding her sword at the ready, but then Axel grinned sarcastically and the chakrams disappeared.

"Well, looks like we're working together," he said smoothly. "I'll just go and open the door for us so the others won't see. They have ways of watching, but they don't know that I have ways of disabling them."

He turned and dashed off in the direction of the doorway, flickering out of sight easily with his speed.

Xion glanced back at Xandra, trying to gauge her companions reaction to all that had just happened. The other Nobody was staring at the ground, her sword tip trailing through the dust in aimless patterns.

"Are you alright, Xandra?" Xion asked quietly. She moved closer slightly, reaching out a hand towards her, when the girl spoke.

"You know, when I was a Somebody," she said hoarsely. "I think I was a lot nicer. But I can't really remember, because I don't remember how it feels to be nice. I know that if I was a Somebody, seeing him again would feel..."

Her voice faded, and Xion saw a flash of Roxas's face in her mind, his sun-coloured hair sticking out around his sun-bright grin, that rare smile that she knew few people had seen.

"Seeing him again would definitely be better if I could feel things," Xandra said. "But there's just one thing I have to do."

Foreboding pitched through Xion and she instinctively took a step back. "What do you-"

Xandra's hand shot out and grabbed the front of Xion's cloak, pulling her past her, throwing her headfirst into the swirling portal that had suddenly opened up behind Xandra. Xion squeezed her eyes shut, curling into a ball as she spun through the blackness. After a second, she felt her back hit the ground, and she rolled to a stop, jumping back up to her feet.

It took her a moment to realize that she was looking at herself. There she was, standing a few feet in front of her, next to Xandra. They were both facing Axel, who was standing a little bit away with his arms crossed. It was the exact same scene as a few minutes ago.

She heard the crunch of feet behind her, and as soon as Xandra stepped out of the portal, the other Xion and Xandra faded away as if they had never been there. Axel blinked, then switched his gaze to them, as if nothing had changed.

"Do I know you?" he asked. "'Cause apparently, you've got my name memorized."

"Yeah, you know me," Xandra said harshly, pushing past Xion and marching forward. "And I know you."

Axel opened his mouth to say something in response, but Xandra didn't stop moving. She strode right up to him, reached up, pulled his head down to hers, and kissed him.

Xion gaped.

Axel's smirk faded as Xandra wound her arms around his neck and moved her mouth over his. For a second, he was absolutely still, but then, to Xion's shock, his hands moved, as if beyond his control, fisting in the material of Xandra's cloak and yanking her against him as he fiercely reciprocated the kiss.

Xion felt like a voyeur. If they kept doing...doing THAT...clothes were going to start flying, she was almost certain of it! And yet, she could almost see another girl in Xandra's place, a girl with different clothes and a softer expression. And she swore that Axel was changing before her eyes as well, into a version of himself that she had never met.

As she watched, she could almost see the two of them as they must have once been, a Somebody and a Nobody who were in love.

Xandra pulled away from Axel, shoving against his chest to scramble backwards, the spell breaking. He stared at her, breathing hard, with those eyes that were not Axel's.

"Drana?"

Xandra's eyes widened. "No," she moaned. "I thought you couldn't remember. You're not supposed to be able to remember."

But even as she spoke, a film seemed to swipe across his eyes, and the coldness returned to them. He straightened up, smiling sarcastically once more.

"I'm not sure what you thought that would accomplish," he drawled. "But, it takes a pretty weird person to go kissing people they've never met."

Xandra swallowed hard, and nodded to herself.

"That's it then," she muttered. "I'm done here."

She turned around abruptly, and walked back to Xion, her face like a mask. Without saying anything to the other girl, she threw up her hand, summoning a portal. She walked inside and Xion followed, glancing just once over her shoulder at Axel.

He hadn't moved from where he stood, but his eyes lingered on Xandra's back, his brow furrowed in confusion. Xion closed her eyes, feeling a wave of sadness come over her, and disappeared into the portal.

"Why?" she asked, as they stepped out once more into the same spot, watching Axel run away from them to open the door.

Xandra was quiet for a second.

"I just wanted to see if I could feel it again," she whispered.

Xion knew better than to ask if she had found out whether she could.

"Why bring me with you?" she said instead.

Xandra glanced over her shoulder at the other girl, giving a slight bittersweet smile. "I wanted a witness, so I knew it happened."

Xion couldn't think of anything to say in reply to that, so she just looked at the ground.

"Don't worry," Xandra reassured her. "I'm better now. I won't do that again. From now on...he's just a tool to help us complete this mission."

Axel flashed up in front of them, skidding to a stop a few feet away.

"We're all good," he said, nodding his head at the door behind him. "Shall we, then?"

Xandra stepped forward confidently, but for a second Xion hesitated, looking over her shoulder at the empty landscape behind her. In four days, Sora would be arriving here and losing his memories, memories that would steal into her brain and Roxas, condemning them to death. And here she was, on a mission to stop this with a man who didn't know they would be friends someday, and a girl who was a lot more broken then she had first seemed.

Could they really do this? Could they save Roxas and herself and Sora?

"Hello, Castle Oblivion," she muttered.

It all started now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hastily written and hastily edited, finally, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

The inside of the castle was bigger than Xion had expected.

The ceilings soared high above them tauntingly, and doorways arched up pretentiously in front of them. Axel strode through everything without the slightest care, but Xion couldn't help but feel like the sheer size of things, and the pristine whiteness, was crushing her, making her into a small black dot on a sheet of paper.

It was similar to the feeling she got at the Castle That Never Was.

Except there, she had had Roxas and Axel with her. Now, she had Xandra, and a different Axel.

They weren't exactly very comforting people.

The trio slunk along the corridor, then darted into a room, small by the standards of the rest of the place. Axel tipped his head back, scanning the room, then spun to face them, turquoise eyes curious, yet detached.

"Tell me what you know," he said calmly. "Who are the traitors in this castle?"

Xandra gave a tinkling laugh and crossed her arms.

"Everyone, of course. But Marluxia is the ringleader. Larxene is someone else you should take out; she will get in our way as well."

"Do you know what their plan is?" Axel asked.

"The girl, Namine," Xandra replied. "They mean to use her powers to enslave the keyblade master, and then turn him against Xemnas. Our mission is to assassinate the girl."

Axel raised an eyebrow, then turned away, putting his back to them. Xion shifted nervously. It was true that she wasn't good at coming up with things on the spot, but she wasn't certain she liked Xandra just spewing things out like this without telling her first. She didn't know where this was going, or how they would proceed! Axel wasn't stupid. Surely, he would see the holes in their story-

"Fine," Axel said abruptly, spinning back around. "Sure, I'll believe that. I never did like Pink Hair too much."

Xion swore she saw Xandra smile, just a flicker of emotion before it was gone.

"You proceed with your mission," he continued. "While I take the other girl and check out what Mr. Crazy Scientist is up to."

Other girl? A sinking feeling gripped her as she realized that Axel was pointing at her.

"I...shouldn't I stay with Xandra?" she said, trying to hide her panic. "After all, we were deployed together..."

"No, go with him," Xandra said suddenly. "I'll be okay."

Without another word more, she dashed out the door, her cloak whipping around the corner once before she was gone. A pang of sympathy stuck in Xion's throat: she knew Xandra had just wanted to get away from Axel and be alone.

"Xandra," Axel muttered, drawing her eyes back to him. "So, that's her name."

Shaking his head like a waterlogged dog, he focused again on her.

"What's your name, then?" He smirked. "You've got mine memorized, so you should return the favour."

"It's Xi-Kai..." Xion stuttered. "Yeah, Xikai."

That had been dangerous. Although when Axel had left for Castle Oblivion, she had never talked to him, he still knew the name of the 14th member.

"Shi-Kai?" Axel confirmed, sounding it out. "Right then, let's get going."

They darted out the door and down the corridor, Axel setting a ferocious pace that Xion could barely keep up with. The walls spun around her, and she focused only on keeping that red hair in front of her, like a beacon, or a lantern. Finally, he shot into a side room, and she followed, skidding to a halt gratefully, doubled over, panting for breath.

When she raised her head, she lost all of that breath again.

"This is Vexen's temporary studio," Axel said.

There were huge, tentacle pipes oozing out of the walls and crawling across the floor to attach to a gigantic clear box in the centre of the room. At first it appeared to be made of glass, but then she realized that the walls of the transparent box were undulating slightly, like it was made of a thin layer of goo stretched over a box frame. Monitors stood on the walls, and strange lights blinked from odd points in the room. Xion's head spun just trying to take it all in.

"Why do you bring me here?" she asked, turning back to the red-haired man. "Vexen isn't here right now, so how can we check up on him?"

Vexen had died at Castle Oblivion, she suddenly remembered. Which meant that she had to convince Axel to kill the man again; Xandra had said it was essential that they change as little of the future as possible. They still needed Sora to come out of this and kill Xemnas. If Vexen survived, he might mess up the end result.

"Besides, from what Xandra and I have seen, Vexen is not one who can be trusted," she added. "He is most likely someone we should dispose of."

"Really?" Axel commented lazily, not even batting an eye at her hasty declaration. "In your professional opinion, we should kill him? And how am I supposed to believe anything you say?"

"What?" Xion said in shock. "Because we're your allies-"

She couldn't even finish her sentence before Axel swept forward, moving like a blur in her vision, and slammed into her, picking her up and throwing her bodily across the room. She soared through the air, struggling to right herslef, and felt a cold shock go through her body as she hit plunged through the transparent barrier of the box, passing right through the gelatinous membrane and sliding to a stop inside the compartment. She lurched to her feet and threw herself against the wall, trying to get out, but it seemed to only be permeable one way, for she bounced straight off of it.

"What are you doing, Axel?" she yelled, her voice sounding tinny to her own ears.

Axel chuckled cruelly.

"I don't trust you and your buddy. Allies? I doubt it, not if Saix never told me about you. I figured I'd just divide and conquer to bring you down, and you seemed like the easier target."

"But we're-" Xion's words stuck in her throat. Friends? How could she say that? This wasn't the Axel who would eat ice cream with her and try to look out for her even when she did stupid things, and even when he knew what she was. This was a completely different Axel, and she didn't know how to deal with him at all.

Axel sauntered over to a huge lever on the wall and wrapped his hands around it.

"Sorry, Xikai," he said, shrugging. "I have no idea what the hell this machine does, but I'm going to hazard a guess that it's not too damn good. See ya."

"Wait, don't-"

Axel slammed the lever down and Xion was jolted to the floor of the box by a huge wave of pressure suddenly pushing down on her. Blue and red lights swirled in front of her eyes, filling her sight, and she rolled over, struggling to her feet, pounding on the walls of the contraption uselessly. Terror beat against her skull.

I'm going to die, she thought in horror. I'm going to die in the past, killed by one of my best friends in the future.

I won't be able to save Roxas.

And then a voice, low and electronic sounding, echoed through the box.

"What do you want most?"

"What?" Xion screamed. A bright flash shot from the walls around her, and her eyes suddenly seared. She staggered, and directions seemed to lose meaning. All she could hear was that voice all around her, bouncing off of every surface, repeating the same question:

"What do you want most?"

A deep shaking started vibrating through the machine, rattling right up through Xion's bones, and she clutched her head in both hands, trying to hold onto some part of herself. This is it, this is the end, she thought in panic. She opened her mouth to cry out, but before she could make a sound, pain split through her mind, bleeding through her fingers, and a wave of blackness washed over her.

Xandra paused halfway down the hallway, glancing over her shoulder at the empty stretch of white corridor behind her. A strange sensation passed over her, a chill that went up her spine. It was similar to what she once had known as fear.

"Axel?" she whispered. "What the hell have you done now?"

Turning, she began to run.

Xion blinked open her eyes, and focused on the first thing she could see . Which in this case was the floor of the box, a fuzzy mis-match of different shades of grey. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, this time forcing her strained muscles to move her head, turning it to look around her. She was still in the box structure, the walls undulating around her, but the lights had faded, and the voice was gone. What had happened? Why wasn't she dead? What ha dhte machine even done?

Slowly, she became aware of a steady thumping noise, and she pushed herself up on one arm, wincing as pain screamed through her limbs. She raised her head, and froze.

"Xion!"

Roxas. Roxas was inches from her, his hands pressed against the translucent wall between them, his blue eyes staring directly into her own.

"Xion, are you okay?" he asked, in that achingly familiar, undeniable Roxas voice.

And now she understood what the voice had been saying.

"What do you want most?"

The future had just been clearly screwed up.

And Axel was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

**And finally Roxas makes an appearance in the story. About time, considering this story is tagged as Xion and Roxas for the characters...Now where in dead god's name did Axel go?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi? I'm finally back...I took time off writing any fanfiction so that I could study for final exams. But now it's summer, and I'm back! This time, I will be starting weekly updates, so that I can actually finish this story. I rather like this chapter though...finally the plot is starting to move!**

* * *

Xion's jaw nearly fell to the floor. She could almost feel her own shock and horror oozing off her skin and wrapping around her neck like a pithon, squeezing until she could barely breathe.

"Are you okay?"

She barely registered the muffled voice emanating from the other side of the clear box she was trapped in. Her own thoughts were far too loud.

This couldn't be happening.

"Xion, answer me!"

She snapped her eyes back to Roxas's face, and she heard herself replying.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"How do I get you out of there?"

"I think those levers-"

Roxas ran to the wall and pulled down on the first lever he saw. Instantly there was a strange grinding noise, and the translucent walls of the cube gave a creak and began to shrink, rapidly closing in on her.

"Not that one!" Xion yelled as Roxas fumbled with the controls. "The other one, the big blue-"

He yanked it down and the clear wall under her hands suddenly disappeared. She stumbled forward, out of the bizarre apparatus, and would've hit the floor if two arms hadn't caught her by the waist and propped her back up on her feet.

"Hey, Xion," Roxas said, his face mere inches from her own. She caught her breath when he gave a slight smile, his eyes pulling her in. Then she pushed herself away from him, trying to get some distance so she could think.

"You can't be here," she told me. "This isn't possible. You can't be here."

"Where is here anyway?" he asked, scanning the room in vague confusion. "And how did I get here? I mean, one minute I was in my room at the Castle That Never Was, and then I was here..."

"And Axel's gone too," Xion muttered to herself. If she had summoned Roxas to her, what if Axel had been sent to take his place in the future? That would mean that there were two Axel's in the future. What would happen if they met? Oh god, this could not be happening.

"Xion? Are you alright?"

She looked up to see Roxas looking at her in concern.

"I think I broke the space-time continuum," she said.

"Say what?"

"I broke it. I definitely broke it! The world is going to explode now and it'll be all my fault!"

"Hey, calm down! I'm sure you haven't killed the world!"

Xion gasped as a thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Xandra. We have to find Xandra. She'll know what to do."

"Who is-"

"She was sent on ahead by Axel, so she should still be here somewhere..."

"Axel?"

"Talking about it won't solve anything though. Come on. We're going to look for her."

She grabbed Roxas's sleeve and began to pull him towards the doorway, but he planted his feet.

"Wait."

Xion dropped his arm, dreading his next words.

"At least give me some sort of explanation," Roxas said quietly. "How did I get here? Where are we?"

"I...I summoned you here," Xion began. "By accident. We're in the past, at Castle Oblivion, the place that Axel and some of the other members went to. I was brought here by a Nobody from the future, a girl named Xandra. That's all I can tell you right now." She stepped forward, impulsively grabbing his hands between hers. "You just have to trust me."

For a moment he just looked at her, his face still swamped in confusion and surprise. Twice he opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped. Finally, his expression cleared, and she felt his fingers lace with hers.

"I trust you," he replied.

She nodded, forgetting what her hurry was as they stood there looking at each other.

"Xion!"

They both turned to see a girl hurtle into the room, planting her hand against the doorframe to stop herself, her dark hair flopping in her face. As soon as she caught sight of the boy with Xion, her cheeks paled.

"How can he be-"

"I don't have time to fully explain," Xion cut in, letting go of Roxas's hands. "I accidentally summoned Roxas from the future, and I accidentally sent the castle Oblivion Axel into the future."

"Geez!" Xandra breathed, putting a hand to her head. "I leave you alone for one minute..." she broke off, then continued, her expression growing dark. "But that would explain why weird things are happening, and in the wrong order. I saw Repliku-he's a copy of Riku that Vexen made-walking through the halls, and he isn't even supposed to have been made yet."

"Well, what do we-"

"You two stay here," Xandra instructed, opening a dark portal with a flick of her wrist. "I'll go bring back CO Axel from the future."

Not even waiting to hear some sort of agreement, she jumped headfirst into the darkness and it zippered shut behind her.

Roxas stared, dumbstruck, at the spot where she had been. Xion wracked her mind for a way to explain the other girl.

"Xandra used to be Axel's girlfriend before we came to the Organization, but someone erased his memory of her."

Roxas nodded, as though this suddenly cleared everything up.

"I could definitely see her with Axel."

Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the hallway beyond, slow but certainly heading towards the room they were in. Blue eyes met wide blue eyes before they simultaneously dashed around the curve of a huge metal tube on the floor, heading for the only place they could see to hide: the thin area behind an enormous metal bookcase. Xion slid in, her back pressed to the wall, but Roxas hesitated, obviously wondering how he was going to fit in there as well. The footsteps were almost to the room now, and she could hear a voice as well, disturbingly close.

"And this room here is my second temporary laboratory..."

Swallowing her embarrassment, Xion grabbed Roxas's sleeve and yanked him behind the bookcase, on top of her.

"Spectacular room, isn't it?" the smooth voice said, now obviously in the room itself. "When the Organization is finished with this Castle, I think I would like to recreate it back at The Castle That Never Was."

Distantly, Xion placed the voice in her memory: it was Vexen. However, she couldn't bring herself to focus on what was happening outside, because her world had abruptly shrunk to the space behind the bookcase.

It was so small that Roxas was literally plastered against her, flattened so that there wasn't a single inch of his body that wasn't touching hers. His hands were braced on the wall on either side of her head, his arms effectively caging her. She felt warm, uncomfortably so, and she had nowhere to put her own arms. They hovered stupidly at her sides, her palms slipping with sweat against the wall.

The worst was that his face was inches from her own. He was only an inch taller than her, and there was simply no room. He had his head pulled back as far as it could go, but his eyes stared into hers, his cheeks bright red, his breath puffing out over her own mouth. She could almost taste his breath. Feeling shaky and uncertain, she slowly licked her lips. This was a mistake. His eyes flicked down to her mouth, and she felt a dizzy tingling spread through her head. What was wrong with her?

Roxas glanced from her lips back to her eyes, the golden spikes of his hair brushing against her forehead. She tensed in surprise when he started leaning forward, but he merely shifted so his head slid in next to hers, his chin rested against her shoulder, his cheek pressed to hers.

"Sorry," he whispered in her ear, his words tickling the skin in a way that caused a bizarre shiver to run down her spine. "There's no room..."

She raised her hand and rested it on his shoulder, trying to convey that it was alright. He relaxed slightly onto her and for a moment Xion could find nothing to think about except the way that their breathing had fallen into a rhythm: when she inhaled, he exhaled, when she exhaled, he inhaled. Their bodies melted and moved together like one being, and all they were doing was breathing.

But suddenly she became aware that there was a second person other than Vexen in the room when she heard another voice.

"No, I won't."

The voice was that of a girl's, soft, but determined, wavering only slightly.

"I won't get into that machine."

"Ah, but you don't have a choice," replied Vexen silkily.

"Tell me what it does first," the girl said, obviously stalling.

"Why, it merely summons to you the one person whom you want more than anything."

Xion froze, realizing simultaneously that they were talking about the box thing and that Roxas was also listening. Please, she begged silently, don't let him figure it out. Don't let him see the truth: that that machine brought him here for me.

"And both of us know who that box would summon for you, don't we, girl? The Keyblade Master. Your saviour."

So this girl was a friend of Sora's? And the person she wanted most was him? She couldn't get into that box! Xion started to struggle out of the space behind the bookshelf, determined to stop this, but Roxas's hand suddenly moved from the wall and curved around her waist, holding her to him.

"Wait," he hissed.

"I don't want to summon him," the girl exclaimed.

"Of course you do," Vexen laughed. "You want the hero to save you, don't you?"

For a moment the girl was silent, but then:

"Your plan might not work if you teleport him into the middle of the Castle. You said he was coming this way anyway. Just let him walk in through the front door."

"But wouldn't you rather see him now? I know you draw pictures of him, all over your room-"

"Stop it!"

There was a crashing noise, as though the girl was clumsily running away from Vexen. Xion tensed as a girl suddenly appeared in her vision, slumping against the wall right next to the bookcase. The girl glanced over, and her shocked eyes met Xion's.

For a second, they just stared at each other, but then Xion raised her hand, placing one finger against her lips.

Please, she tried to convey with her eyes.

The girl pushed away from the wall, abruptly moving out of sight.

"Vexen?"

"Yes, girl?"

"I'd like to be alone in here for a minute."

"Very well. But don't try escaping: I'll be guarding the end of the hallway."

A brief pause, and then some more footsteps, now receding into the distance. Still, Xion didn't dare to start breathing until the face of the girl appeared again at the crack of the bookshelf.

"It's okay, you guys can come out now," she said quietly.

Xion nodded, and pulled her arms away from Roxas. He shifted backwards as far as he could, squeezing by her, his face passing an inch from hers again. It took a minute, but he wormed out of the tiny space, stepping out into the room. Xion took a deep breath, feeling both grateful and disappointed that he was off of her, before she followed him.

Only when all three of them were standing in the middle of the room could Xion really get a good look at the girl who was apparently being held prisoner here.

She had blond hair, a little longer than shoulder length, which softly fell over her right shoulder. She was wearing a simple, short, white dress, and her eyes were a deep blue. But the thing Xion noticed the most was that, in facial features, she looked a lot like herself. A lot like Kairi.

The girl didn't seem to notice. In fact, she only seemed to have eyes for Roxas, who she hadn't seen until he'd been able to get out from behind the bookshelf.

"You're him, aren't you?" she said breathlessly. "You're Sora's Nobody."

"What?" Roxas said in confusion.

Xion frantically tried to remind if Roxas knew who Sora was. Geez, the future and past and present were all getting muddled in her mind, especially when the past was the present for her currently!

"It doesn't matter," she said, interrupting. "I'm Xion, and this is Roxas. You're being held prisoner here, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"We'll get you out of here," Roxas decided abruptly. Xion glanced over at him in surprise: Roxas was usually very wary around new people, slow to make friends. But she agreed. Even though she had a mission to perform, she couldn't just leave this girl here.

"We promise," she said. "What did you say your name was?"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't," the girl replied, her luminescent eyes gazing into Roxas's.

"I'm Namine."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8...Things are going down...this chapter felt a bit like a filler chapter at first, but I think I got some necessary stuff in it. Still not certain how many chapters this thing will be until the end though! All characters, (except for Xandra, my OC) belong to the guy who made KH.**

* * *

Whatever Xandra had been expecting, it was not this.

She had assumed that if Axel1 (the future Axel), met Axel2 (the CO, past Axel), something horrendous would happen, like the world exploding, or both of them spontaneously combusting, or merging into one.

But this was far worse.

"You know, you're right. That cloak does fit kind of oddly at the back."

Axel1 was giving Axel2 fashion advice.

Xandra pressed her back to the wall, peering around the corner in astonishment. The two red-haired men were standing inside Axel1's room, barely distinguishable from each other. Axel1 appeared to be taller by a half inch, with a more worn cloak and a face that seemed to hold a little more emotion than the other man, likely due to having spent so much time with Roxas and Xion. Axel2 was looking around, seeming to be barely surprised that he had been transported across space and time.

"How come your cloak looks the exact same as mine?" Axel2 asked, his voice slightly more emotionless. "They really didn't change these outfits at all in the future?"

Axel1 shook his head.

"Nah. Maybe, when you get back to your time, you could mention the idea to Saix, and get the ball rolling. I'm thinking something without sleeves. It gets damn hot in Agrabah."

This is insane, Xandra thought to herself. But she really should have known. Of course Axel would be unfazed at the sight of another version of himself. He's Axel.

Her lips curled up at the thought, but it was a hollow humour. That was the right word for how she felt. Hollow. She felt like a shell, a sack of bones and meat with nothing inside. All that was left were echoes of things, reverberating around in her empty chest, striking off the walls of their cage with a dull pain.

It was worse when she looked at Axel. The twinge became an ache, a solid pulse of pain. She distantly recognized it as longing.

And now there were two of them standing in front of her. Great.

"So then, twin," Axel2 said, his tone deceptively casual. "You say you're the future version of me?"

"Well, you just popped into existence into my room, looking exactly like me and saying that you come from Castle Oblivion, which is a place I was at a while ago," Axel1 responded, shrugging his shoulders. "What I want to know, is if you're my past self, than why don't I remember having this conversation?"

"Maybe I'm not supposed to be here," Axel2 mused thoughtfully.

Xandra decided that this was as good a time as any to cut in.

"Yeah, you don't," she exclaimed, sauntering into the room.

Both of them whipped around at the sound of her voice and took an eerily similar battle stance. Xandra leaned casually on the doorframe, unsure how to proceed, but not allowing any of that to show on her face. She couldn't drag him out by force, so she should try to use her feminine wiles.

You wanted me once, Axel, she thought. Maybe there's something here you'll still find worth wanting.

"You need to come back to the past, with me," she said silkily, fixing her eyes on the younger Axel. "You're in the wrong time, Axel."

"Oh, really?"

Axel2 smirked at her.

"Maybe you wouldn't be so keen on chasing after me if you knew what I did to your friend."

Xandra blinked in surprise, then elegantly lifted one shoulder and dropped it.

"More like what she did to me. Ever wonder how you ended up here? She didn't take too kindly to your little stunt, so she sent you into the future. Trust me, she's fine."

One thing Xandra was good at was bluffing. She had no idea what Axel had tried to so to Xion, but Axel didn't need to know that.

"That's the problem though," Axel2 said. "I don't trust you, Xandra."

She flinched involuntarily at the sound of her new, Nobody name coming out of Axel's mouth. It was so similar to her old, Somebody name.

She forced a low chuckle, ducking her head. Stop it! She told herself. Right now, he is a tool, a means to an end.

Xandra pictured Xion and Roxas, holding hands, staring into each other's eyes. Yes, she would save them. She would do some good in her life before she disappeared.

Time for the seductress to appear.

She raised her head and slowly sashayed across the room towards the past Axel, a small smile curving her mouth.

"Trust me or not," she murmured, brushing her fingertips across the front of his cloak, glancing up at him through her eyelashes. "You...need me." The last words were whispered into his ear, her warm breath skipping over his skin. For a split second she leaned into him, letting her curves press against him, feeling him tense in a different way than he had before, shifting as though about to pull her nearer-

And then she stepped away, her hand slipping off of his chest. If she had stayed there too long, she might not have been able to pull away from him, so that was enough of that. She shot a coy look at both of them over her shoulder as she moved out of reach. To her surprise, Axel1 had a strange look on his face, something she hadn't expected. Jealousy. Axel2's eyes had darkened slightly, in that dangerous, sensual way she remembered them doing, and his breathing was just a little uneven.

Result, she thought triumphantly.

"You want to go back to your time, right?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Then come with me."

* * *

"Wait. What did you say your name was?"

The blond-haired girl blinked blankly at Xion.

"It's Namine," she said, flashing a sad, sweet little smile. "I'm Kairi's Nobody."

"Kairi?" Roxas said, almost to himself. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"You don't know?" Namine said in surprise. "But you-"

"Should go take out Vexen!" Xion interrupted, thrusting her hands between the two as though to break the invisible connection of their eyes. "Roxas, you should go take out Vexen so we can escape! Just knock him out or something."

Roxas turned towards her and nodded. As if on impulse, he reached up, his hand tracing her cheek briefly. The moment behind the bookcase shot into her mind, and she knew that he was thinking of the same thing.

"On my way," Roxas said, then turned and crept out of the room.

Xion, her cheeks still slightly pink, looked back to Namine, who was frowning at the spot where Roxas had disappeared. This was the girl. This was the girl who would cause the death of Roxas through her powers, the girl who was the tool of the Organization.

She thought she had been prepared for this. She knew what came next. She had to kill this girl, to save her best friend, and herself. But she had steeled herself to kill someone she thought was evil, or at best a mindless puppet following the Organization.

She flinched at her own choice of words. A puppet? Wasn't that what she, Xion, was?

Roxas. She was doing this for Roxas.

But this was Kairi's Nobody! Xandra hadn't told her that! And she seemed weak and scatterbrained and sad, but not evil at all. Another thought rocked through her like an aftershock: Roxas was Sora's Nobody. Did that mean that he and Namine were meant to be together? Like Sora and Kairi?

It didn't make sense, any of it!

"You can't use regular dark portals in this room," Namine said quietly, obviously unnerved by the silence. "Vexen made it weird like that."

Xion nodded. Xandra's portals weren't exactly normal, so it wasn't surprising that they still worked.

"So you're in love with Sora?" she asked, trying to distract herself from the thoughts racing through her brain.

Namine jumped back, looking shocked.

"What-?"

"Sorry, I just heard your conversation with Vexen earlier and I assumed-"

"Oh."

She fell silent, her face growing even sadder than it had been before.

"Yes. Sora will come and he will rescue me from all of this."

Her voice was abruptly childlike, her blue eyes even emptier than before, a desperate hope swimming in the bottom of them. Her thin arms wound around her stomach as though she was holding herself together.

"Rescue you?"

Namine nodded.

"I've been all alone," she whispered plaintively. "All alone with no one one to be my friend. He's a hero. He can save me."

"But it sounded before like you were trying to oppose Vexen's ideas!" Xion exclaimed in frustration. "You don't want Sora to be hurt, do you?"

"I...I just want to be taken away from here," the blond-haired girl replied.

For a moment Xion was silent, but she knew that Roxas wouldn't be gone forever. She flexed her fingers and summoned the Keyblade, feeling a burst of power rush through her limbs. Namine gazed down at the Keyblade in awe and confusion.

"Sorry, Namine," Xion said softly. "But this will take you away, don't worry."

She slowly started to raise the Keyblade over her head.


End file.
